On the Subject of Proving Murphy's Law
by KnockoutHammer
Summary: Archaeos Electro has escaped the Hunger Games so far, but will the Capitol find out about his shenanigans? Or will the hit be closer to home? Having horrible luck, he has had to rely on his mental prowess to escape death, but does he have enough to win? Nearly no Canon, but still a good story! Crticism is advised and share with your friends! Share share share! Be a good kid!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1; The Day Before**

It's the day before the reaping, and I'm always cheery this time of year.

But it's different this time. I'm clear of the Hunger Games for good this year, and have the sweet satisfaction, even if to myself, that I had outsmarted the capitol. Every year I would sneak into the justice building and take my name, Archaeos Electro (and that's "Electro" as in the Latin term "golden", referring to the golden hair running through my ancestry all the way back to the beginning of Panem, when everyone re-named themselves), out of the drawing balls.

Why, you ask? Well, I probably have the worst luck that any person could imagine. If I do have a stroke of luck, it usually means that something horrible is about to happen to someone else. I've learned to just stop caring about other people, and just worry about myself. Yeah, it makes me a selfish bastard, but it makes it easier.

Well, I guess I can't help caring about Nox...

Nox is some new form of mutt, I tell you what. He's from three, like me, but he looks like he's from twelve, with his black hair and pale skin. But his eyes are green, which are indicative of 1 or 4. Then, if you only look at his name, Noximus Maximilian, you'd think he was from the capitol.

We had grown up together, he and I, and he's probably the only person I'd give up my life for. Probably because he's the one that keeps me sane. He's sweeter than a cookie, though. Not the type of guy I'd think to be as delicious as I do.

But I'm not gay, so I don't think he's delicious...

We spent the whole day together enjoying the finer points of District 3, exhausting ourselves with dance games, stuffing ourselves to the brim with cheese and noodles, and pranking Ratchet, my arch nemesis. She and I exchange deadly pranks, but it's all in good fun. We know both of us are good enough to get out of it alive. Late in the night, Nox covered me while I took out my name slips, which is surprisingly fast and easy once you make an advanced probability formula.

We came home laughing, as usual, and I led him upstairs to my bedroom, where I pulled out a bottle of white liquor.

"Cheers to home free?" I grinned at him. He stared at me for a moment in disbelief, and then said "Cheers."

We drank for a while, but didn't get drunk. No way were we going to have a hangover the morning of the reaping. Still, I felt loose, and found myself touching various provocative spots on his body. Feeling his thigh, rubbing his chest, stroking his neck, clinging to his arm. I was soon in a warm embrace.

"Nox?" I was confused, but still touching as much as I could. "Yeah?" His voice was lower. "What are you─ah!─doing?" I sucked in my breath as he placed his hands on my hips. "I'm..." He started. "I'm going to fuck you, Archaeos. Really hard. All night."

The next part is a blur of emotions and heat. All I know is we went all night, he took me for all I'm worth, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Er, I could go on for a while about how great that night was, but I feel I should skip the details. The point is, from then on, I lived happily with Nox, facing crowds of disapproving faces, my mother crying that she wouldn't have any grandchildren, and I held his hand on through the reaping and we lived happily...ever...after...

BWAAHAHAHA! I can't even keep a straight face saying that! If only the past statements were true. Okay, okay, let me calm down and I'll tell you what _really_ happened.

...

Okay, I'm done. What I'd planned to do was finish with him, and then after the reaping, turn him down. I've accepted that I'm gay, and I enjoyed it to no end, but there was no way I was gonna face the shit people would give me. Instead, I chose the smart path, to kill my feelings, hurt his, and marry a woman to have kids that I'll teach to outsmart the capitol too.

Well, that was my plan, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2; Call Me Wheatley**

On the day of the Reaping, I'm not worried. I thought there was no way I'd get picked.

In the traditional fashion, they call the girl tribute to the stage first. "Noxinia Maximilian." Oh, shit. That's Nox's twin sister. _I_ don't really care if she dies, but poor Nox will never be able to handle that loss. She annoys him, but he's so kind that he would never wish death upon anyone. His mother will be devastated, too.

Man, I'm glad that's not me.

It comes to the time where they call the boy tribute, and I'm just about bored to tears whenever I hear something that could really make me cry.

"Archaeos Electro."

My name was called. I stand still, the impact not yet hitting me. "Archaeos Electro," Trinity Moore, our announcer and host for the seventy-first Hunger Games, called again impatiently. I drift out of the crowd, unable to comprehend my fate. Did I leave one in there? No, I triple checked to make sure neither Nox's names nor mine were in there. Then I burned the slips of paper. Did the Capitol notice me? Impossible. I've made completely sure that nobody but the people I completely trusted knew.

I made my way onto the stage somehow, and stared out into crowd, speechless. "Are there any volunteers?" Dead silence. I find myself looking at Nox, but soon shot him a death glare. I would never want him to volunteer for me. My eyes drift to Ratchet, and rest on her shocked face. In her eyes, I saw something I wasn't quite familiar with.

Guilt.

Time slowed to a crawl as I came to a realization. She put my name in there. She sent me to my death. She won. "You fucking bitch!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, and in a fit of rage, lunged at her. I landed right on her, and started attacking her face with all my might. Anonymous hands tried to pull me off, but only succeeded when the reluctant hands of Peacekeepers grabbed me. But I was still screaming.

"I'll never forgive you, you hear me Ratchet Wells? Never! I'll despise you until the moment they slit my throat and force me to drown in my own blood in that damned arena! I'll call out your name as I die, let you know this is all your fault! You won't get away unscathed!"

I watch her shocked expression change to terror as I spat insult after threat after insult at her. They dragged me away from her, and I cursed her name with all of my being. A needle in my arm stopped me, and then the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three; Final Goodbyes**

I awoke in a cushy room, atop a fancy bed with silk covers. I bore a hole in the canopy above my four-poster bed with my eyes for minutes at a time until the door clicked open. I frowned because the click-alarm wasn't working, but then I realized that I wasn't in my room. Turning my head, I realize that it's Nox.

"Nox," I said numbly. We sat in silence for a while, but I was the first to speak. "Hold me, Nox." He obliged, and we lied on the bed, quiet save the comforting whispers of reassurance he gave me as the last minutes I had with him ticked by. "Hey. I want you to take this into the arena with you." He pulled out a red hairbrush, the one I had made him use every morning, the one I had brushed both mine and his hair with countless times, the one with played karaoke with as kids. Something so small that I had taken such advantage of now seems to be the most precious thing I will ever have. "Thank you," I looked up at him, and felt a wave of hurt barrel me into frantic depression. "Nox, I need to tell you something important before I go. You're…you're the most important person…" I gasped. I needed to force down my mask, and bare myself before him like I did the night before. "You're the most important person in my life. I…you're, you're the only person I care about more than myself. I, Nox, I think…" I paused, gasping through tears. It's so difficult to push my mask down and pretend that the Capitol's not listening when it's so obvious that they are. "I think I Peacekeepers came in and told him the visit was over.

"What? Think what?" Nox panicked, but I couldn't say it. Not when the peacekeepers were around. The mask clamped back down tight and locked its self in. "I'll miss you the most." I stared at him harshly, and then dropped my gaze to the floor. He fell silent and walked out, whispering his goodbye.

I couldn't tell him that I loved him. I hate myself for it, but I'm not a strong person. Not physically, emotionally, or in will. Sweet, wonderful Nox deserves much better than what I can give him.

After that, I had one more visitor. When she came in, rage filled me to the brim. It overflowed and lashed out like fire on my tongue. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Ratchet had the balls to come visit me.

"What are you doing here?" I screamed. "I-I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean to send you to the Hunger Games. I just put one slip in there, and planned to freak you out before the reaping. I never intended for you to..." She trailed off as tears ran down her pathetically swollen face. "Never intended for me to what? Get slaughtered for other people's amusement? You know damn well I have horrible luck! I don't care what you _meant_ to do; I don't make empty promises. I will never forgive you and never, ever, ever stop hating you." I hissed in her ear and shoved her out of the door. "Now get out! I don't ever want to see your face again! How _dare_ you be my last visitor, you swollen, mumbling retch! You incompetent whelp! You cold-blooded, cowardly, MURDERER!"

I slammed the door closed and threw myself on the bed to throw a completely childish but very called for fit until I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4; Death Train a' Comin'**

The ride to the capitol only took a few hours, but we had to wait a few days for the other trains to come in. On the train, Noxinia and I were talking out plans with Wiress and Beetee, our mentors. "Well, you best bet is to…" Wiress trailed off. "Think of a plan before you enter the arena." Beetee finished. These two were a couple of goons, that's for sure. "Alliances can help a lot, especially, uh…" Wiress started again, and again Beetee finished it for her. "At the Cornucopia. But neither of you are good for that. Nonetheless, you should try to make an alliance with some people from other districts. You may need their skills."

"More like they're gonna need _my_ skills." I retorted, tired of their stupid antics. Wiress could concentrate if she lift her head up from that damn remote she's fiddling with. "Overestimate yourself, and you'll be the first to die." Beetee warned. "Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna die anyway, so why should the order matter?" I waved him off, and he gave me a sharp look through his giant geek glasses. "I said don't overestimate yourself, but there has to be a winner, you know. It could very well be you, if you were willing to put forth any effort."

"Don't try with him, Beetee. He's just a self-centered asshole. He won't listen to you no matter what you say." Stupid Noxinia jumped in. She had always been an unpleasant personality, a total priss with a severe napoleon complex. "I'm sorry, I'd tell you that insulting someone with a curse makes you look stupid, but you couldn't possibly look any dumber than you are now, even if you were from the capitol." The insult slid off my tongue easily, and tasted something like sweet cream. The look on Trinity Moore's idiotic, over-made face made it so much sweeter. I love belittling people.

"Archaeos, shut up. If you're going to waste your time insulting your district partner instead of coming up with a plan, you may as well go back to your room. You'll be more useful there than here." Damn, Beetee has a stinger under all that geek. I smiled with a newfound respect for him. "All right, start talkin'." I said, and he smiled back. He's smarter than I thought. Nobody has figured out that matching my wits would get me to listen so quickly.

We talked for a few hours, and decided that a pre-game alliance would only kill us faster. There are too many ways to get killed as the nerd of the group. Noxinia and I decide to train separately, mainly because I don't want to deal with her squawking all day. I refuse to talk to her other than her daily three words for the entire train ride.

As I sat in silence in my own luxury cart, artfully decorated with relaxing yet extravagant designs and colors, I reminisced about my younger days. My mind drifted to the night my father gave himself up for me.

I was just eleven years old, and the reaping loomed like a giant snake, its coils crushing my bones and lethal fangs ready to strike. I panicked at every minute that ticked closer to the day. Did I mention that the reaping is on my birthday? When I said I was unlucky, I meant my life is a piece of shit. Anyway, it was about eleven o'clock at night, and I couldn't sleep because of the anxiety. I stared out of my window and contemplated how I would die.

Then I saw something peculiar moving in the shadows, and lo and behold, my father appears by my window. He taps it to tell me to open it, and I obeyed. "Here son, happy birthday." He smiled roguishly at me, handing me a slip of paper with my name printed on it tied to a larger piece of paper. "Don't read the big one until you find your blind spot."

On the day of the reaping, my name was not called. I went home and celebrated a normal birthday, and I fell in love with my father. Not him, specifically, but his personality. That's why my attraction to Nox is such an enigma. I had yet to figure out what he meant by "blind spot", and was going to ask him, when a peacekeeper bludgeoned him in the head with a club and dragged him to the town square. "This man is charged with theft of food sources, defacing public property, and going outside the district gates unauthorized. The penalty for his crimes is death."

My father never lost his snarky attitude, right up to the point when his limp, bleeding body hung from the gallows like rotten meat. I knew why this happened. These were provable charges, but my dad was discovered. They didn't know whose name he had taken out, but they assumed it was his. He died for me. He got himself killed, just so I could live.

What a fucking idiot.

A single tear ran down my face, but I wiped it away. I swore to myself that I would never cry over him, and just remember what an idiot he was, giving up his own life, which could have given so much, to preserve the life of a son that doesn't even care to cry over him. Care to think of anyone else, care to feel for another human being and in fact _likes_ to hurt other human beings. He gave up his wonderful life to save a monster that killed two peacekeepers for punishing him for loitering by the fence.

(Did I tell you that story? Well, it's not important. Let's save it for another, less important chapter.)

I never knew what he meant by "blind spot" until four months later, when I found a blind spot in the cameras from the street and in my room. At first I thought he was referring to my blind right eye, which at the time sat stupidly visible (before I started covering it with my bangs) and often lazed off to the side. But that was the most idiotic theory I will never truly admit to having. The blind spot was just big enough for twelve-year-old me to squeeze into without being noticed and read the map of the justice center. I discovered that my father wanted me to do this for myself the rest of my eligibility period. The stupidity the paragraph contains is overwhelming.

It definitely wasn't easy. At only 13 years old, I had to sneak into a highly guarded facility and successfully pull my names out of giant glass globes with thousands of other names. I was almost caught four times in one trip, but it's worth it every time. I've gained a lot of skills from the heists, but none I should really have to use unless I'm in the Hunger Games.

Which I am.

Okay, I might have a shot. I just have to hope that all of my other opponents aren't nearly as smart and limber as I am. Which is unlikely.

So, long story short, I'm severely, undoubtedly, unarguably fucked harder than a prostitute living in a metal spike factory.


	5. Chapter 5

**Explanation**

I guess you're wondering what happened after I attacked Ratchet. In all honesty, I don't know. Nobody mentioned it except Beetee, who told me that attacking her wouldn't help much with sponsors. I guess they edited it out of the film, because nobody else in the Capitol has mentioned or seemed to take notice of it. I guess they figured I would die anyway. Easier on me, I guess.


	6. Chapter 6

**How do I Look?**

"Agh!" I couldn't help but yelp as my prep team ripped hot wax and hair from my eyebrows.

"Sorry, but we can't let you go out there with those caterpillars above your eyes." A very tall man with spiked blue hair and a goatee, pitch black skin, and royal purple tattoos rubbed something disgusting onto my legs. A yellow, portly woman with pink curls and whiskers set the wax down, picked up scissors, and made a bee line for my waist-long hair. I flipped over and grabbed her porky arm and bared my teeth.

"If you cut my hair short, I will personally see to it that you lose your job, or worse. More likely worse." I threatened her truthfully, and she gulped and nodded, her eyes wide, so she looked like a fat tabby. She trimmed and brushed it, making sure to keep it past my ribs. By the time she was done with it, it came to my lower back and shined brilliantly.

"You have such beautiful hair. If only you would take better care of it." A skinny woman with aqua tattoos and short gold hair sounded odd with the normally high-pitched Capitol accent in her deep, raspy voice. "Yeah, well, live in the districts and see if you have time for that crap. Ow!" Spiky ripped out some of my leg hair. When I snapped my head up to look at him, he simply said "You had a few hairs out of place."

I glared at him, but let it go. No need to beat these into submission. I don't need to live with them like I do Peacekeepers.

When my prep team was done with me, I waited, completely naked, for my stylist. By the time she got to the room, I was pacing. "Hi, I'm Helenia. I'm gonna be your stylist this week." She took three perky steps into the room and I was already getting sick of her. She was a pure representation of a Capitol woman, with bubblegum pink skin and inch-long black eyelashes with pink tips. Not to mention her long aqua hair with just one giant upward curl in the front and two others in the back that are even longer. Her cheeks were full and her lips were puffy and cherry red. I gawked at her body, grossly morphed into a rough estimate of a 28 inch waist and 40 inch bust and hips by a silver metal bodice. She wore a puffy aqua mini skirt and knee-high lace stockings with silver 5 inch heeled boots that came to mid-shin. She would be lovely if she didn't look so fake.

"Archaeos." I nodded to her.

"District three, huh? Science and technology. Lotsa smart people come from there." She was trying to make conversation, but she just sounded stupid beyond all belief. "Oh? Is this a scar?" She rested a long, red, plastic fingernail of the scar on my waist that I had gotten escaping from a peacekeeper in the justice center when I was thirteen. I had set off a trap that sent knives flying, and one left a deep cut. I was lucky I didn't die, which is why my mother threw out her back the next day and never really recovered. "I hit a bump and flew off my bike when I was thirteen. Skidded to a halt and got cut by a stop sign that had fallen down." I had been using that excuse for so long, even my mother believes me now. "Huh, that's weird. Bet it hurt a lot." She ran her finger along it. "You have no idea." I said.

Now that idle chitchat was over, we decided that it was time to discuss my outfit for the chariot rides. Helenia chose District 3 because she believes metal is the "up and coming fashion trend" and the games would help with that. "You're kinda feminine. We'll play on that."

She fitted me in a leather vest with glowing buttons that showed my stomach, paired with skin-tight leather pants. Then she put metal gauntlets and boots with platinum lightning bolts jutting out and wrapping around my hands and feet, buckling them with thick steel buckles. Then she draped a cape over me. It had metal wires in it so it would keep a shape like it was alive and wrapping around me. It had a collar that went above my head in spikes. Then she crimped and gelled my hair so that it looked like a big mass of electricity. Every pun intended.

When I met Noxinia before the chariot rides, I discovered that her outfit was similar, only she had a metal bodice that flaunted her massive melons and a sheer skirt with lightning bolt-shaped metal rods holding it up like a tutu. She also had black stockings and shorts on. "Ready?" She raised an eyebrow. "Please. YOU may not like me, but I know just how to work a crowd. You just shake those titties and pray you don't act like a bitch." I snickered. She really does deserve it.

We stood on our chariot; black with black horses. I counted as each district went through. One, two, me. We rolled out into the roaring crowd, and my public face came on. I smiled and waved and caught flowers and winked and blew kisses, making the crowd go wild. Noxinia saw what I was doing and how much it worked, and copied me. It was exhilarating, their cheers, their love raining down on me like a waterfall, and by the time we got to the end of the runway I was genuinely smiling and giddy. We stood attentively, out of breath from the adrenaline. Bright lights blinded me, and I could only hear President Snow.

"Welcome, tributes, to the 71st annual Hunger Games! Compete for honor, glory, and riches, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

It was short and to the point, just how I like them. Snow seemed like a guy I'd like, for the most part. Straightforward, intelligent. We could be buddies, if he wasn't gonna kill me.

On the way back around, I had an amazing idea. I scooped down and grabbed a rose, kissed it, and threw it into the crowd. A girl caught it and squealed, so I gave her an award-winning smile. We neared the building and entered the shadows, and the flame of fame flickered and disappeared, leaving a thick layer of smog in my chest. They love me now, but that won't change a thing in the arena. In the end, love won't do anything about a spear through your chest.

Hey, guys, I just recently figured out that people actually read this! I'm really excited. But it would help a lot if I got reviews...

I really don't care what type of review, but just one would make me feel better about this whole thing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Now Entering Stage Left...**

It was time for my interview with Caesar Flickerman, performed in front of thousands of people. All of Panem was watching on TV, too. If there was any time to be likable, it was now.

Helenia had put me in a silky blue button-down and black slacks and shoes. I had a small gold chain around my neck and a gold belt, and my hair was braided from one side of my head to the other and draped down in a golden cord over my shoulder. I watched Diamond, the girl from one flirt and flounce onstage, then Gloss, the boy from one pump his fist in the air and declare war on all the other tributes. Mason and Picka from two were equally manly. Noxinia went before me. Then it was my turn, and I stepped out into the bright lights smiling.

"Hi, Archaeos. How are you today?" Caesar smiled at me in his green hair and suit. "Hey, I'm feeling pretty great." I answered. "That is, if you like the other tributes sneering at you like chihuahuas after the mailman." That got a laugh out of the audience. "How do you like it here in the Capitol, Archaeos? Got any new friends?" Caesar smiled at me, and I felt really comfortable. He knew how to work a crowd, admittedly, better than I did. "It's a lot more comfortable here, you know, and the food is awesome. Are we allowed to take it into the arena?" Another laugh. "I don't think so." Caesar chuckled. "Dang, I just might have to die so I don't have to go back to district food." A roaring laugh danced around the stage for a good few minutes. "As for new friends, Helenia, my stylist, is pretty cool. Noxinia's as adamant about talking to me as ever." I shrugged. "Oh? She doesn't like you?" Ceasar looked at the crowd. "Nah, ever since her last boyfriend left her for me, she's been bitter. He went back to her because I'm not gay and I turned him down. She turned him down and hasn't had a boyfriend since" The crowd "ooh"d at my blatant lie, so easily parting from my lips it could have kissed me on the way out.

"Tell me, Archaeos. Do you feel ready for the Hunger Games?" He looked at me smiled. "Ready? No." The crowd murmured. "I'd better say born for 'em."

I left the stage with a smirk on my face and a roaring crowd at my back. That went perfectly. However, when I passed by Noxinia, she gave me the evil eye. "I swear, when we're in that arena, I'm going to personally kill you." She bared her teeth like a wild animal. "Just try it, titgirl. It'll be kinda hard to fight me with those in the way."

I spat at her and walked away as indignantly as possible. She can kiss the fattest, whitest part of my ass.

Author's note: Hey guys, I made some huge changes to previous chapters, so I reccomend re-reading it. First of all, I changed Archaeos's nemesis' name (twice), and I took out the segment in chapter three when his mother visited. This alters the whole story, so you have to keep up with it if you really want to read this!


	8. Chapter 8

**Let The Games Begin**

I lay in my bed with Nox, sighing pleasantly after a night of frenzied sex. "That was really good." I whispered, making circles on his chest with my finger.

"Mmm, yeah." His deep voice resonates, making his chest rumble beneath me. "I'm glad I get to see you beforehand." I shot straight up, fear threatening to rise in my chest. "What do you mean?" He was starting to scare me, his face cold and expression dead. "Well, I'll never see you again. You're dead...dead...dead..." As he repeated the word, he turned into his sister, morphing grossly and with the sound of cockroaches crawling in swarms over a garbage dump. "You're dead!" she hissed and grew fangs, her head blowing up like a balloon. The bed slipped from under me, and I fell through darkness, naked, to land in a battle field that was littered with the bones of children and infants and fertilized by human flesh. Blood rained down like a waterfall, staining my skin. Terror struck me as horrible "crash, crash, Crash, CRASH!" sounds slammed their way toward me, and a giant president Snow stomped toward me with glowing red eyes. "Welcome, tributes, to the 71st Annual HUNGER GAMES!" He snarled viciously and raised his leg to crush me like a beetle.

I screamed and ran, ran and screamed, frantically stumbling over the bones and screaming for Nox, for anybody. My voice was choked out by the overwhelming slamming sound, getting closer and closer each second. I tripped over a bone and landed right on top of my own dead body, festering and infested with worms and roaches. It stared at me blankly, as if judging my soul "Run." It whispered to me, then sound of bones breaking and hot pain drowned all of my senses, but I know I was screaming, screaming with all my might.

"Archaeos!" I woke with a jolt, my mouth wide open and a horrible sound filling my ears. Beetee stood beside my bed, trying to calm me down. My chest shook with pain and the sound got louder, until Beetee placed a hand firmly on my chest an told me to breathe. I sucked in a long breath, and realized that that horrible sound was my own voice. I was really screaming. Pain pounded in my head, causing me to lie back down. "You were having nightmares." Beetee felt my forehead. "No shit." I snapped. I ran a shaking hand through my hair. "That must've been some nightmare." Beetee gave me some pain pills, noticing my headache. I knocked them back and took the water from Wiress's hand. "Thanks." I layed back down, still very tired. "It was awful. I never want to have a dream like that again." Just for a second, I wished that I could die right now, just so I would die in the comfort o the Capitol and never need to go through the trauma of the Games. My instinct took over, though, and told me that that was stupid, and I could make it through this, if only by this same instinct.

The next day I woke up groggy, and dressed quietly. Running my brush through my hair, I sat at the breakfast table and forced down some food. I was gonna miss it in the arena. Everything was sort of a blur until we got to the arena. All I can remember was Noxinia being awful chipper.

When I got to the basement thing under the arena, numbness was replaced by body-shocking terror. My hands trembled as I fumbled with my change of clothes that consisted of a T-shirt, a windbreaker, and thick jeans.

"Hey." Helenia called me, and when I turned to look at her, she took scissors to my bangs and snipped them right off, making them blunt. "Oh." She gasped. "That's beautiful. Why didn't you show it off before?" She touched it with a red claw and smiled. "Because having everyone know that you have a blind eye is like saying 'fresh meat for the killing!' at the top of your lungs." I was so irritated at her. She just made this whole thing ten times worse. But what did I expect, really? Nothing is ever easy for me. Well, except being a genius. That comes pretty natural.

I stepped on the plate, and the tube descended around me. Panic slammed into me with every heartbeat that passed while I was in the dark. I couldn't breathe. I had to get out of there, had to breathe fresh air, hear something. I was just starting to feel the tube close in on me as it came down, revealing the arena.

I was shocked. I had never really been around such natural scenes, the smell of pine in the sharp, cold air, the majesty of mountains to one side, a frozen lake to my other, and a pine forest behind me. I stood currently in a field of permafrost, shivering.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six. I locked my eyes on a large black bag adjacent to the Cornucopia. Five, four, three, two, one.

The gong sounded, and I shot like a bullet toward the backpack, putting all of my energy into getting it and escaping. On the way there, I faced little conflict, which was weird. However, whenever I grabbed the backpack and turned around, the guy from 1, I think his name was Gloss, was coming at me with a spear. I scrambled out of the way, and he ended up hitting another tribute in the shoulder. I jumped up as fast as I could and dashed toward the transition between mountains and forest. It was so cold, and I was breathing so hard, each breath ragged and painful. My legs cried out from the sudden exertion, and my heart struggled to keep up. A knife cut deeply into my thigh, and pain shot up like a hot lizard, scratching its way up my leg in a desperate frenzy. "Agh!" I couldn't help it, I fell to the ground. "Say goodbye, pretty boy." The girl from six grinned at me evilly.

Then she went still, and I thought that, just for a second, this whole thing was some sick hologram that I was put in for testing, and it had glitches.

However, she coughed up blood and fell to the ground with an axe in her back. I took the knife out of my leg and ran like a wounded mouse to the wooded area, desperate for shelter. I ran and I ran and I ran and I tripped and I fell and I rolled and I hit a tree, luckily with my stomach and not my spinal chord. I payed and choked for a while, trying to regain my breath. The snow soothed the hot pain in my leg but it felt horrible along with dirt and leaves going down my throat. Four short minutes passed before I heard other tributes and had to get up again, and I limped lamely toward the mountains, trying to find an alcove of some sort. The backpack was big and heavy, and while that was good because that meant I had a lot in it, it slowed me down significantly. It was about thirty minutes before I reached the mountains, and I was feeling more than sick from blood loss.

When I found a small abandoned wolf hideout, I burrowed in there and opened my backpack and prayed for some bandages.

Fur-lined coat. Fur-lined gloves, no fingers. Boots with fur. Thick, insulating pants. Water bottle. Iodine. Six pieces of jerky. Pocket knife. And...first aid kit! Somebody up there does love me!

I cleaned off the wound with the water, disinfected it and bandaged it up, getting a pile of snow to prop up and soothe my leg while I put on my clothes. I strugggled with the boots and pants, and then zipped up the jacket. Even the hood was fur-lined, so I put that up, too.

There were pros and cons to this. Pros: The clothes are comfortable, warm, and effective. Cons: they're black and easily spotted in the snow. It would be a good idea to stay in this alcove, where someone could confuse me for a rock, until my leg felt better. Until then, I curled up and tried my hardest to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**And You Think Your Life is Hard. **

I woke with a start, whipping my head around to check for other tributes. I had the sickening feeling of someone approaching, so I scooted as far back into the cave as possible and curled up, trying my hardest to look like a rock.

Footsteps.

Man I'm good.

The career pack laughed like hyenas as they passed me, making fun of a girl they had just killed.

"Wait," Gloss warned, and my heart stopped. "There's someone close. I can hear them breathing." Feet scraped the ground as they shuffled around trying to find the hidden tribute. I quieted my breathing, trying to be as still and quiet as possible.

If you had seen Gloss in the training room, you would be terrified of him.

That boy was a monster. He could climb long distances at break-neck speeds, had the sword techniques of a ten year master, the hearing of a wolf, the endurance of a waterbear, and the pain reception of dead meat. Not to mention the humanity of a rabies-ridden bear. He had no mercy, and certainly didn't play games. I saw him bend a steel arrow with his hands; not even over his knee. His reflexes are impossible, and his eyesight puts a hawk to shame. (How do I know all of this? Well, he made it a special point to intimidate all of the other tributes...especially me.)

I panicked and struggled to keep my body still. Feet shuffled up to the alcove, and I heard Noxinia's voice.

"I think something might be in here, Gloss." She said. "Yeah?" He came over to the little hole and looked in. I was like a deer in the headlights. My heart dropped and my body froze. I felt like I was gonna throw up, but I couldn't move.

He observed the cave for several minutes, and each second brought a new agony. "Hm. No, just rocks. Guess nobody's found this yet. We'll check it a lot, though." He stood back up a walked away, and Noxinia peeked in, but soon got back up and followed as well.

When I couldn't hear their footsteps, I gasped. That was the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced. I peeked out, just barely missing the top of Gloss's head with my sight as they walked away from me. I was starving, and thirsty, so I ate some jerky and drank some water, then felt my leg. It still hurt like hell, but the snow helped.

_"Viirr! Viirr!" _

I heard a strange sound as I sat quietly in the cave. Pinpointing the location, I found a camera in a dark spot, disguised as a rock. I smiled into it and said, "Man they're stupid. Thinking a person is a rock. I think they were just mistaking me for their brains." I stuck my tongue out and then crawled out of the cave, breathing in the crisp, cutting air. Man, that jacket helped a lot. Outside of the cave, I re-did my bandages to let the cool air hit it and cover it in more snow. After cleaning it again, I wrapped it up in new bandages. It was looking better, but was still pretty nasty.

Getting up, I limped my way into the forest to try and set up some traps for food. It was incredible. The dark, musty smell of trees and the soft _shh_ sound they made comforted me. I had stared at trees a lot at the fence surrounding the district because there weren't many inside it. I had always liked their soft, accepting sounds, so natural and content. I would stare at the green mass for hours, just trying to soak in every detail. The problem was, the peacekeepers didn't like me loitering. They gave me warnings, but I didn't listen, and eventually they put me in jail for the night. That outraged me; how petty! Just for loitering. So I compiled and re-arranged enough "evidence" that they were conspiring against the Capitol and trying to incite a rebellion. I came up with a really believable lie and turned it into the Justice Center, acting the whole way through it. The two peacekeepers that had arrested me were executed, and I let the whole organization know that I was a force to be reckoned with. They didn't punish me for loitering anymore, and the silly power struggle was resolved with me on top. The trees always remind me of this incident, and at this point I believe I am no better than President Snow. That doesn't really bother me.

I trudged through the snow, pausing every now and then to listen for the career pack. When I felt safe enough, I set up traps for game, and then set up traps for humans. I whittled sticks into a point, and made three or four traps that would kill anyone who tripped them. Then I walked away and tried to find somewhere safe.

A rustle in the bushes shocked me, and I hid behind a tree. When I peeked out, a freckled face appeared in front of me, and I screamed. The freckle-face screamed as well, and we both fell to the ground. He tried to scramble away, but I grabbed his ankle. "Come back here!" I pulled him toward me and he panicked, wriggling around like a ferret. "You were gonna run into one of my traps." I lied. He panicked even more, and looked around. "Don't bother trying to find them. I'm a master at setting traps. Now, what district are you from?" I pinned his shoulders with my knees and sat on his chest. "F-four." He answered. "Do you have any food?" I glared at him, and he nodded. "Share and I'll spare your life." He wriggled hesitantly, then said "Okay."

I got off of him and reached into my backpack, taking the jerky out to share with him. He had berries and nuts, as well as a cooked squirrel. "Which berries are poisonous?" I asked him. "The black ones and the red ones." He gnawed on the jerky. "Thanks." I ate my fill, and then picked all my stuff up. "I lied about the traps. They're a few meters back." I said as I got up and started moving, and he scoffed. "You're a good liar. I'm not a good liar. I always get nervous and my dimples show." He followed me, and I became instantly annoyed. "It'll be pretty hard to lie with an axe in your face, too. And that'll happen soon if you don't shut up." He was quiet after that, but I could hear his teeth chattering. He was long past the point of seeing his breath in this bitter cold, and I got the creeping feeling that he wouldn't last long at all. A shadow centipeded up my spine, and sent icy, panicked claws into my back. Something was gonna go wrong, and it wasn't gonna be natural.

"Stop following me." I tried to get him away, but then heard a noise and snapped around to see Mason barreling toward us. I panicked and ran away, and Freckles did the same. I started scaling a tree, trying my hardest to find some sort of grip. With nothing but the need for survival driving me, I scaled my way to a high branch, but I had to dodge a knife once I got there.

It still clipped me in the arm. Pain burst in my arm like I got hit by a water balloon filled with needles. I cried out in pain and tried to go around the tree, to do something to avoid another hit, but I couldn't see what I was doing, so naturally I fell out. Fuckin'...ugh.

The wind pounded out of my lungs as the impact shocked my spine. I gasped like a fish out of water, but no air was coming in. Diamond came closer and my vision blurred and sharpened, confusing me. I tried to crawl away, but she stepped on my back. That's when I knew it-that I would die. Freckles tripped and died with Mason's axe in his back.

A canon blast.

A sharp pain.

A maniacal laugh.

Nothing.

Author's note: Hey guys! I think I'm really proud of this one! It's a little long, but I think it's worth it. Anyway, reviews are appreciated. Thank you to 265 for my very first review, by the way! I'm really excited that there are people who like this story. :)

SPOILER!

This isn't the end. :3

Like I would kill off my character so fast. You're silly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Why am I Still Here?**

I was never the type to wonder that my life was a dream, or that I might be controlled by someone else. I always thought that thinking things like that would only drive you crazy while you tried to answer it. As far as I knew, this is my reality and I should just roll with it.

But at that particular moment I speculated, no, I wished with all my might that this was all some horrible dream, and I would wake up perfectly fine on Nox's chest. Hot pain numbed all other senses, and I watched objectively as the scene played out around me.

Mason tripped over one of my traps and instead of falling in it, fell on his own axe. When I looked up, Diamond was laughing at him. She was doubled over, laughing as hard as she could.

Somehow I was awake enough to notice the opening, and found the strength to move. It took all of my willpower, but I stood and ran. I ran as fast as I could, but Diamond wasn't following me. She was laughing too hard. I made it about an eighth of a mile away when my knees gave out. I fell face-first into the snow, giving me a splitting headache. I should've known I wouldn't last long. I found the pinpoints of pain in three places on my back. In my foggy daze, I checked for daggers. She had taken them back, so I turned onto my back to let the ice freeze away the agony. Nox held my left hand, and I smiled at him warmly. "Hey, Nox, you know I love you, right?" I gazed into his forest green eyes with all the love I could find.

"Yeah, Archie-baby. I know." He gave me his dazzling smile as I felt my back get warmer. Then he kissed me, kissed me all over my face and lips. His kisses were cold and soft, leaving a bit of wet residue behind. He kissed me wherever my skin showed, and I surrendered myself to him.

I giggled and squirmed under his love, asking him why he was so cold. He never answered me, only kisses. Then kisses turned into nipping, then biting. "Ouch, Nox! You're hurting me." I whined, but he wouldn't stop. Then he dragged me by my feet, still biting me and causing my back to explode with the fires of hell itself. It seemed like hours before I was relieved of the torture. After that, I don't remember much. Except that I came to in a cave, wrapped in bandages and sleeping next to a fire, my coat drying near it. At first, I wasn't sure where I was. Then there was no mistaking it. I was still in the Hunger Games, suffering. I could've died, and this would be all over. I could've been put out of my misery, but it seems the world is keen on keeping me miserable.

The Games broke me. I became another pawn in one of their games, another notch in the cog in the brewing machine of violence and insanity. I cried, and cried for a long time. It didn't even occur to me that someone had to have saved me, or even that that person was in the cave I was in. I didn't care. I wished I had died back there. The pain was unbearable, and the overwhelming need for Nox rushed over me in tsunamis of emotion.

When I finally calmed down, I lied quietly, hollow and flushed from so much exertion.

"Hey, are you okay? You cried an awful lot." I recognized the voice belonging to Lillian Oakshade, the girl from 10. I could only grunt in reply.

Turning to face my savior, a real bumpkin souvenir, I tried to make out details in the low light of the small fire. She had dusty blonde hair and freckles, a few bent teeth, and green eyes. "Hey. You're stabbed pretty bad, so I laid you on your stomach. Sorry I had to drag you here." I stared at her for a little while. "Why'd you save me?" My voice cracked, withered from the sobs. "Oh, you just looked so bad. I mean you were goin' all crazy, saying something about 'Nox' and gettin' hurt and someone was biting you." I realized that Nox was never there at all, and those "kisses" I'd felt were the snowstorm now raging outside of this nook in the mountains. My body shook with exhaustion, unable to continue the conversation. I grunted again, then fell asleep under the morphling of intense and unbearable pain.

I stayed there for about three days, I think. The snowstorm raged for so long and I'd slept so much that time was unreadable to me. Eventually I had to stand, but I often got dizzy and sat down anyway. By the fifth day the storm had stopped, and four tributes had died. Lillian wasn't there, but I had to leave. As a thank you so I wouldn't feel guilty or something, I left her the last of my jerky and some bandages. I was limping now, having been hit by knives not only in the leg but now in the back. I must've looked pretty pathetic, actually. I laughed at myself for a minute, unsure of what to do after all of this. "Man, some medicine would be amazing right now." I mumbled to myself. Not like anyone was listening.

First time I'd ever been wrong, and it was a good thing. A few minutes after I'd said that, a silver parachute with a small package came floating down. "Oh, yes!" I limped over to it as fast as I could, smiling. I sat down to open it, and just as I thought, there was a medicine spray in there. I started with my leg, which by now was grossly bruised and not yet scabbed. I sprayed sparingly, not knowing how many injuries I'd come across later. It worked miracles, though. I watched the wound close, and the pain was numbed. Oh, sweet normalcy. I missed not being injured.

I sprayed some on my back and sighed as the pain lifted away, leaving behind a renewed vigor. I felt like I was ready to take on anything but Gloss.

After that, I happened upon a spear. Now, this seemed far too coincidental, and smelled like a trap. I picked up a stick and moved it, but nothing happened. This...this is horrible. Something awful is definitely going to happen. I picked up the spear and pointed it toward the ground as I walked, fearful of meeting Mason's fate. I found myself by that small cave I had been in before. I stared at it, an ominous feeling creeping over me. This isn't good. I needed to run, but I couldn't move. I wanted to look around, but nothing would do anything. I could only listen to the footsteps of the career pack advancing, and Gloss's voice announcing my presence.

My life really did pass before my eyes, and I gotta admit, I had a pretty shitty life.

The footsteps quickened, and I prepared for the absolute worst. There was no way I could survive Gloss. Fate was done with me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Instincts Turn Out to be Pretty Convenient**

I froze for what seemed like minutes. Time slowed to a crawl and for a moment, I could've sworn my consciousness separated from my body.

About the time I heard Gloss's voice a second time was when I finally snapped out of it and ran.

"I'll take this one down!"

Nowhere to hide now. I would have to outrun him. This, of course, is impossible. I sprinted to start making a wide semicircle into the forest. It wasn't far from the forest's edge that he had caught up with me, and I'd have to fight.

My whole body screamed that this was impossible. Even on my best days I couldn't hope to beat Gloss. But now, in the bitter cold with my aching muscles and several freshly healed knife wounds, there was no way in Heaven, Hell, or Earth I was gonna be able to beat him. Not even in my dreams.

I was crying and panicking and going insane all at the same time, so I thought I'd have at least one more rational thought; Fight or flight. Flight didn't work, so it's me or him. Choose wisely.

My instincts took over and I managed to turn around and swing the point of the spear at him without crapping my pants.

"Oh, so the cowardly lion found his courage after all? Too bad that won't help you."

He swung his sword at me so swiftly that I could barely see it. With my depth perception problem, it easily split open my left cheek, even though I dodged. Swishes and slashes and clangs and cries of exertion and pain cut through the crisp air. The adrenaline in me pumped and exhausted every last resource I had.

He still got me down on the ground. The last of my breath was knocked out, and I prepared for the worst. He leaned in, pinning me down and putting his face close to mine. "I'm gonna hold you here until your little girlfriend gets here and she'll cut off your head. Until then, don't even think about misbehaving. I know it's the only thing you're good at-"

He was cut off by my projectile vomiting on his face, a very common reaction in the aftermath of a fight. It was actually embarrassing for both of us, now that I think about it. I hope the cameras didn't catch it.

I passed through a terrifying moment. If I don't kill this guy, he's really gonna kill me. Like, really, actually end my life. I panicked and grabbed my spear as he was wiping the vomit from his eyes. I gripped the handle of it, indecisiveness haunting me. Could I really do it? I shook with the emotional tidal wave crashing and raging in me. Time shifted into slow-mo again as I poised for the attack. This is impossible, I thought. I don't have the guts to kill someone. I can't do this. Why was my hand moving? I said that I couldn't do it! My hand soldiered through my conscious demands and instead locked into instinct mode. He was just getting over his disorientation when my arm swung with all the force I could muster.

An audible, disgusting sound resonated through the frost as the spear went through his chest. A choked cry escaped his lips as he looked down at me and the spear with not rage, as I had previously thought, but remorse in his eyes. Sadness and disappointment. The ground had no mercy on his fallen corpse, hardening cruelly under the weight. The thud echoed in my mind and ate at my sanity.

I had just personally taken another person's life. With my own hands, I had killed someone. He probably had a family. A life. The cannon blasted and the reality really sunk in. I would never be clean of the blood I shed.


	12. Chapter 12

**There's Something So Right About Self Loathing**

I couldn't move. The prospect of what I'd just done hit me like a ton of bricks. The hovercraft waited above me, trying to get me to move out of the way so they could pick up the body, but all I could do was stare at him until I heard angry voices from my left.

Scrambling off in the opposite direction, I saw Gloss's body get lifted from the ground. Horror rocked my body and chilled me to the core. I gasped and cried as I ran, desperately trying to get away from my crime. The image of his disappointed and anguished face flooded my mind. The choked sound of his pain filled my ears. I couldn't escape the guilt, and it haunts me to this day.

Eventually, I found a nook in a tree and rested, giving my body time to recuperate from the injury and adrenaline dumps. Without much thought, I fell asleep.

With a start, I woke to a cannon blast. It was about nightfall, and within minutes the symbol was displayed and the anthem was droned. Gloss's face was up there, as well as Lillian's and Sorrel's, the guy from ten. Three more tributes to go; me, Diamond, and Noxinia. Either Diamond or Noxinia were going to die very soon, and the final two would be forced together for the finale. I prayed to God I would be up against Diamond.

You see, when I said that Noxinia annoyed Nox, I lied. He loves her more than anybody else. He's pretty much the only person who likes her. But he's the only one that likes me too, and I need him as much as she does. So why does he choose her over me? I don't know, maybe it's because they're related. I can't help but think he'd think me a monster if I survived and she didn't. Not that I'll survive, I'm sure by the end of this fate will get tired of me and kill me off so it can find a new play toy. Until then, I guess I'll have to suffer.

Just as I had thought, there was another canon blast. The grand finale would soon take place.

Then I heard a sound. It was clear and distinct. The howling of wolves filled the air.

I shot up and sprinted for the cornucopia. The wolves gained on me fast, but I knew the Capitol wasn't going to allow them to kill me. They would chase me until I got to the clearing, and my adversary and I would go face to face. My heart pumped hard and my body worked like clockwork, feet hitting the ground in a precise and symmetrical fashion. This is the end. The final battle is here, and I'm not gonna sit by and let them kill me. I'm walking out alive, even if I die afterward. My nerves hardened against the strife I had experienced, and I felt animal instincts replace moral boundaries.

I came upon the clearing pretty quickly, and went into the cornucopia to wait for my apponent. Just as I suspected, the wolves stopped at the forest line and turned back. Standing my ground, I faced the rest of the field with heightened senses. And who should come out of the forest but...

A laugh escaped from my throat. It was the kind of laugh you only hear burst from a freshly beaten madman, far gone off the deep end and unable to see the ledge from which he'd fallen.


	13. Chapter 13

**Just What Did I Expect?**

Noxinia came out of the forest. Stepping strongly, she advanced toward me like a cat. That is, if cats had udders. Man, I just can't get over how ridiculous they are.

I stood still and gripped the knife I had taken out of my backpack, animal impulses fleeing from my mind and leaving a deep and intense fear. There was no way I'd be able to kill her. It wouldn't be worth it to live with the scorn Nox would put on me. There was just no way.

But still I stood, knife in hand, poised for defense.

"I'm so glad you survived," She approached me confidently, fresh blood on her hands. "Now I get to off you myself." A wicked smile curled up on her lips, and the impact of a first kill obviously haunted her mind. "Are you sure those ugly lumps on your chest won't impair your stabbing distance or movement? Or are you just going to sit on and suffocate me with your fat ass?" I really need to learn to control my mouth when an insane woman is trying to kill me.

She lunged at me with a dagger in her hand. I dodged and came at her with mine, but we ended up wrestling each other to the ground. We rolled over and over whilst pulling hair and biting and clawing and punching and kneeing genitals and tearing skin. She stabbed me in the right eye and ended up pinning me.

"How in the world did you beat that monster, Gloss?" She pressed a knife to my throat. "You didn't deserve to take his life." Hot breath fogged up the freezing air, the smell of blood shot up my nostrils. Everything slowed down, and unlike the fight with Gloss, it seemed so unreal. There were no flashbacks, no revelation about mortality. I was completely calm and focused, and there was no emotion to fog my senses. I felt invincible, and at the same time completely vulnerable. I wondered if that was what it's like to not care whether you live or die.

She faltered, if only for a moment, at the blank and serious stare I was giving her. "Don't act like you're not scared!" She yelled at me. "I'm going to kill you! You're going to die a slow, painful death!" I could feel her fear and disconcertion at my inhuman reaction to the situation. I was a little afraid and disconcerted myself. Did this mean I was truly mad?

I remember all of the calm, dispassionate things that ran through my head at that moment. Like none of this was even new. "Oh, hey, my hand's free. It's got a knife in it. Guess I better kill her now." Oh hey, the oven's on. There's a pan in there. I guess mom's making dinner.

I shoved the knife under her ribcage and into her lung with little thought. Hmm, blood, I thought. Weird that it's red. Wow, Noxinia, I mulled. Those are the most unattractive sounds I've ever heard you make. Hurry up and die so I don't have to listen.

She choked and fell to the side of me, and that was it. I won the Hunger Games.

So why do I feel like such a loser?


	14. Chapter 14

**Homecoming**

A vague recollection of the following events dances vaguely in my memory. I remember staring at a corpse and being unable to move. I remember a ladder and a lab table and a surgical mask. I remember an IV drip of morphling. I remember my right eye being permanently shut. I remember them cutting my hair short, embarrassment at the fact that they added in the barf bit, and some greatly numbed form of dismay at the final battle. I remember the train an the awesome food that I couldn't eat. I remember thinking that while I called myself so intelligent all the time, I didn't use that at all. I remember laughing emotionlessly at the irony of it all.

When I saw Nox, all of the emotion that had been suppressed the past few days burst from me with an ejaculation of his name. I ran to him, begging for an embrace. Of course, he stood still under my affection. "Hey, uh, welcome back Archaeos." He patted my back and awkwardly tensed under me. I begged him to come with me to see my new house. He reluctantly agreed.

When we got some alone time, I wrapped my arms around his waist, in desperate need of understanding and affection. He pushed me away. "Look, Archaeos," He began. "No, call me Archie! Don't use my whole name, please." I whined. "Archaeos, I...I just can't do this right now. You killed my sister. I just can't deal with you. I don't know why I ever did." His words cut me worse than Diamond's daggers, leaving deep emotional wounds that will never be healed. "Maybe I'll be able to do this when the loss isn't so fresh." Tears ran down my face and a betrayed gasp escaped my lips. "You don't think it's all fresh to me? What did you want me to do, die?" I started to yell, baffled at the stunning loss of his sensitivity. "Kinda, yeah! Better you than my sister!" His voice cracked and he looked away. "I-I'm done with this." He turned his back without looking at me, and walked out.

I fell to my knees and looked at the floor for a minute. I had to get some kind of comfort, something to ease the gaping hole in my chest. I considered talking to my mother. Maybe she would finally have pity on me. Or at least try to look at me with something other than disdain.

That was the stupidest idea I ever had. I saw her close her curtains and lock the door as I approached the house. I considered Ratchet. Hell, I was desperate. When I got to her house, she didn't want to talk to me. Probably because she didn't want to hear me blame it all on her. I guess I wasn't going to do that, but what would she know.

This left absolutely nobody to even attempt to come near me. I went to the market, got liquor, and drank myself into a coma. I had lost absolutely everything; my pride, what was left of my integrity, my love, the closest thing to a friend I had, and my entire family. I was broken, and there was no mending me this time. I had long lost the will to live, but lost the energy to kill myself. Even now, I drink myself into a comatose stupor every day. You were lucky to catch me sober, and this story took a lot of my drinking time just to think about painful memories. Get out of here, you bother me. Today's probably gonna be suicide day, if I can find a gun or something.

Oh, shit, has that always been there? Never noticed it before. Better leave, kid, this is gonna be gruesome.

Goodbye, cruel world...or some shit like that. See you in Hell, kid!

BAM-!

thunk.


End file.
